Well, I woke up tonight for work after only having 2 hours of sleep. I felt like crap and even worse when I got to work. Sitting down to work on Nozomi, I suddenly spat in the face of sanity and decided to just have fun with my pic. I liked what I came up with so much that I'm calling it final - for now.

Here is the pic I had originally used for reference from the Shenmue manual.

I doubt I would have actually tried anything "artsy" had it not been for the inspiration gleamed from this fantastic site! I'm so glad I found this place

I think she looks much cooler with spikey hair. However, the length in the back seems a little weird, like she's got one of those hockey haircuts where it's short on top and long in the back, hehe

I think her eyes are beautiful. I know you said you're calling this done for now, but if you decide to work on it again I think it might look nice if you sharpen up the hair just a tad. Kinda blurry right now.

I like the hair too. My only note for improvement: the neck is too wide, it probably ends somewhere in vertical alignment with mid-lip on the left.

When you said you went to work with 2 hours sleep then suddenly "spat in the face of sanity," I read, "spat in my face." That's about what I'm feeling now because this morning is the third time in a week I skipped a night's rest. I'm going to have to spit in my face to keep myself awake come late afternoon . . .

Resistanz: Yeah, I know it gets blurry, but I kinda like how it flows from concrete to abstract.
Jezebel: Sweet! We're like, not far from each other at all Yeah, I think I gave her a mopet(is that what their called?) but I intended to do that. Maybe out of style, but I thought it looked cool.
Starseed: Dammit! I didn't even notice that, thanks for your observation, when I get a chance I will fix the neck/shoulder proportions.
Bubonic: Thanks for your compliment. I might try for the ultimate in photo realistic images again, but heck, this was my first attempt with a portrait - period. It could have been weeks before I finished it.

What I like most about this "final" one is the sponanaeity of it. To give you an idea, I spent a few days on the eyes and face alone. I spent an hour or two on the neck, shirt, hair, ear and background. I never really drew like that and it all just flowed so well.

Well, after looking at it an awful lot, I've decided I am gonna work on it a bit more. I already know I'm gonna sharpen the hair a bit, fix the neck/shoulder proportions and maybe a couple other things. Any more comments/suggestions before I spend hours making mistakes? Also, I might want to make the shirt a little more textured. Any good suggestions on how to add texture?